Shabudana wada

Today I am posting the recipe of one of my hubby’s favorite dish- Shabudana wada it is my younger brother’s favorite too. The only difference is that as we both are staying together so my hubby enjoys shabudana wada’s often but my younger brother staying alone in a faraway country only has this dish once a year whenever he visits home for his vacation. My mom makes sure to make shabudana wada’s every Thursday (they all have a fast on Thursday) till my younger bro is there.

So a little tit- bit about shabudana first

Shabu or sabudan or sago used in Indian cooking, especially as a light-meal choice for sankasti, ekadasi & for all fasting days. Sabudana" is the Marathi word for white pearl like beads of sago. Sabudana is called "javvu arisi" in Tamil and "saggu biyyam" in Telugu.

In India especially in maharashtra shabudana is most commonly used in fasting dishes, such as shabudana khichdi ,shabudana wada , shabudana thlipeeth or even shabudana kheer. In summers I remember my mother making shabudana sandge(small wafers ) which are dried & stored & fried in oil on fasting occasions

Shabudana "pearls/grains" look like tapioca. The white pearl like beads of sago and tapioca look identical. But they are from quite different sources. Tapioca is processed from the cassava plant, while sago is obtained from the sago palm.

Here's How to soak shabudana for using in various dishes

In most of the dishes every pearl like bead of shabudana has to be separate, it's essential that you don't over-soak it, or it will turn out like a sticky gluey paste & spoil the whole dish.

Shabudana has to be washed once in cold water, then drained. Water is then poured over the sago until the water just reaches the surface of the sago, and is left, covered, for 3-4 hours. It will completely soak up all the water, double in size, and become separate fluffy & soft to touch.

Ingredients:

Sabudana (soaked in water as mentioned above) 1cup
Boiled Potatoes 1 medium
shengdaanyacha koot (roasted peanut powder) 4 tbsp
corriander chopped 1 tsp
chilies (as per taste)
Cumin 1 tsp
Sugar 1tsp
Salt to taste
Oil for frying

Procedure:

1. To make Shabudana wadas, it is really very important that the shabudana is soaked properly.
2. Mix cumin, salt, sugar, coriander, chilies & grind into a coarse paste without using water(use 1tsp of water if needed)- green paste.
3. Mash the boiled potato and add to the soaked shabudana.
4. Add roasted peanut powder, the green coarse paste and knead together gently.
5. Check for taste.
6. Now, make small round flat patties or wadas.
7. Fry in oil till golden brown.
8. Serve hot with coconut chutney.

So here's another peek at those shabuana wada's with coconut chutney!!